End of an Era
by Jenaisis-Sama
Summary: Rin gets a shock, and Thriller Bark will never be the same again.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

It was, as usual, a foggy, dark morning on Thriller Bark. Moria's servant, Rin, had walked into his master's room to deliver his breakfast, which was comprised of cereal, bacon, eggs, orange juice, and tea, all on a large white tray.

"Master, I have your breakfast!" squeaked Rin, laying the breakfast tray on the floor with his head bowed low. Hearing no response, Rin looked up. "Master?" he said, looking concerned. "Master?" he repeated, a bit louder this time. Then it hit him- Moria wasn't going to reply. He screamed, louder than he had ever done before, dropping the tray, its contents spilling everywhere.

Soon the news had spread throughout all of Thriller Bark. Gecko Moria, the Shadow Shichubukai, had died. Perona was distraught, crying on Lich's shoulder, who was looking grim.

Moria's subordinates gathered in his room, were Rin and the other zombies were slowly lowering Moria into a coffin.

"Master Moria…is dead. He tried to achieve his goals, but in the end, it was too much for him." said Absalom solemnly, a lone tear running down his check, as Hogback read out the eulogy.

"A great man….fought against malicious pirates…..tried to become pirate king…"

Only some of Hogback's words registered in Lich's head. In his opinion, Hogback's words just didn't do Master Moria justice.

They walked out of Moria's room to bury him just outside the mansion, in the graveyard. The tears were flowing freely down Lich's cheeks now, as Rin and Bearsy lowered the coffin into the ground. He wiped them away.

"So where do we go from here?" asked Perona, sitting on the ground, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Well….I suppose we just have to continue on in Master Moria's wake." replied Lich, sniffing slightly.

"We have witnessed the end of an era."

Gecko Moria's four subordinates walked out of the graveyard, awaiting their fate.

A/N: Don't get me wrong, as I've said before I love Moria, but I just thout it'd be cool to do this.


	2. Chapter 2

Lich sat on Perona's bed, cross-legged. One thought was going through his head repeatedly: _"Moria-sama is dead." _

Perona.walked into her room and saw Lich perched on her bed. She walked over to him.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Not really, no. This is a dark day for Thriller Bark."

"Hogback's having a funeral feast. Care to accompany me?"

Lich closed his eyes and shook his head. "It just wouldn't be the same without Moria-sama."

At this, Perona fired up. "So is this what it's come down to, is it? We all degenerate into mindless **animals **just because we don't have a leader?!"

Lich glared at her. "You wouldn't understand. Master Moria was like a father to me."

"YOU MAKE IT SOUND LIKE MORIA-SAMA WAS THE ONLY REASON YOU STAYED HERE!" shouted Perona, tears welling up in her eyes. Lich looked mortified, and lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry." he said, and he meant it.

"I should think so." replied Perona, storming off.

"Perona-chan, wait." said Lich, running after her. "Really, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to act like that. It was cruel and hurtful."

Perona rested her head on Lich's shoulder. "I know, but……can't you just move on? People die, it happens a lot."

Lich said nothing for a while, before gently pulling Perona's head off his shoulder.

"Want to go to that feast now?"

Perona smiled. "Sure."

They went round to Hogback's side of the mansion and entered the dining room, but before Lich sat, down, he walked up to Cindry.

"If you don't actually serve the food on plates this time I'm going to slice you up into little pieces." he said grimly, before Perona pulled him away.

"Don't be mean." she said in his ear.

"What do you expect? Her hate for plates is over the top."

Dinner itself was rather uneventful, apart from the fact Cindry was straining not to break the plates she had brought out just for this occasion.

At the end, Lich stood up for a speech.

"Though our leader may be dead, we must continue on. He wouldn't have wanted us to stop fighting against other pirates because of a little thing like death. We will fight on for his cause, and we will forge a new dawn. A dawn of undead."

He then raised his glass. "To Moria-sama."

"To Moria-sama." the others repeated, and Perona smiled to herself.

Lich was right. They had seen the end of an era, but a new one was about to emerge.

**End**

A/N: I dunno….I'm still hung up on this fic. On the one hand, I thought Moria's death would make a good plot point, but on the other hand, how are they going to make more zombies without his Kage Kage no Mi power?

Oh well…..read and review, please.

Hakushi: That was the worst thing you've ever written.

Me: Oh, shut up, shorty.


End file.
